Latest / The Daily Word / July 6 – Work Hard, Trust God
Transcript
- Brandon: Well, welcome once again to the Daily Word podcast. I hope you are doing well today. If we haven't met, my name is Brandon, and I am one of the pastors here at our church. And the whole reason we do this podcast, it is twofold. Number one, to provide an encouragement for you to be able to every day, just from God's word, have something to hold on to, something to put in your pocket, an encouragement, or just something that's challenging. It's helping you grow in a relationship with God. Also, we're doing this as a daily reminder that it's a big deal that we are spending time with God. ⁓ there's no more valuable place than the secret place. Spending time every day with God, asking God to teach us and train us and help us to become more of who he's called us to be. ⁓ here on the podcast, we take the New Testament portion of our reading and we simply share that. It's the New Testament ⁓ portion of the life journal reading, it's the ⁓ portion of the reading that we ⁓ or the Bible reading plan rather that we use as a church. And so today, July the 6th, our reading today is Hebrews chapter 3. And I want to share with you a scripture that every time I read it, it's a great reminder to me of the tension that we have in the scripture. A lot of people think the Bible might contradict itself, but it it doesn't. There's just tension. There's tension in the Bible. And the tension is something we have to embrace and we have to understand. And so here's what what I want to ⁓ read to you Hebrews chapter three it is verse number four and here's what here's what it says it says for every house is built by someone but he who built all things is God every house is built by someone but he who built all things is God we don't often do this because we're taking one scripture and sharing that ⁓ but often in my you know my my Bible reading I'm cross referencing scriptures that I know that are in the margins of my Bible that maybe I just thought about, and I want to cross reference the scripture for you today ⁓ to show you some tension or add some tension to this insight. ⁓ Psalm chapter one hundred and twenty seven, verse one and two it says this unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchmen stay awake in vain. It's vain, verse 2 says, to rise up early and sit up late to eat the bread of sorrows, for he gives his beloved sleep. Here, here in these two scriptures, we we see tension. ⁓ first first of all, in Hebrews chapter 3, it says, For every house is built by someone. For every house is built by someone. It's introducing us ⁓ to us the principle, or reinforcing it rather, that we see all through scripture that ⁓ You only reap what you've sown. The Bible says in Galatians chapter 6, for whatever a man sows, he'll also reap. We cannot sit on our hands and do nothing and expect something to happen. We can't just sit on our hands and go, well, God, you own a cattle on a thousand hills, and I'm just believing that you're gonna bless me and increase my finances, and we sit on the couch and watch Netflix all day. No, you gotta go work. Like you gotta go get a job. You you gotta go put your hands to something. You gotta go ⁓ do the things that God has given you or put in front of you, or you gotta say, God, give me a job or give me opportunity, because we can't do nothing and expect something. Yet at the same time, here's the tension. The scripture also teaches us that it's God who ultimately is doing, is building, is blessing all things. Psalm 127, it says, unless God builds the house. Your labor is in vain. Unless God builds your house, unless God's the one building it, God's the one doing it, all your work and effort is in vain. And unless God's the one who is guarding and protecting the city, all your effort and work to stay up, it's in it's in vain. So we see this tension. I have to do something, but ultimately God is the one who is who is doing it. So so I can't. In here here here what would be my observation and application. ⁓ well let's just go observation first. So observation. I can't just say it's all on me. It it's all on me, which we have to be careful of because that's a very Western American mindset. It's all on me. It's all on me. It's all I gotta make it happen. I gotta work, I gotta grind, I gotta be. No, no, we we can't have the mentality to say it's all on me, and yet at the same time we can't go well, it's all on God. If God wants it to happen, it'll happen. If God wants it to be, it'll be. No, no, no, we can't do that. There is a tension. I've heard it said this way, and I'm gonna say it two or three times to really just add emphasis. But we have to work like it all depends on us, but pray like it all depends on God. And somewhere in the middle, what God's desire, plan, will is comes to fruition. We have to work like it all depends on us. And we have to pray and believe God like it all depends on. And somewhere in the middle, what's in our heart comes to fruition. I'm gonna work my my my tail off, if I can say that. You gotta have a work ethic. You gotta have discipline. You gotta be willing to get up and work hard. The Bible says, six days a man shall work. Work is a gift from God. What we're putting our hands to, what we're laying. It's a gift from God. Work is a gift from God. I gotta work. The Bible says that that it's the diligent man that that will have plenty, but the lazy man, what he has, will surely come to nothing. And yet I can't put all my effort into my abilities. I gotta pray. I gotta pray. I gotta call upon God. I gotta surrender to God. I gotta be dependent upon God. Like it all depends. There's a tension there. And so here's my Application. There's my observation. Here's my application. ⁓ in in everything that that we do, we have to embrace this tension and we have to do our part working hard and yet surrender it all to God and trust that God will God will make up the difference. Maybe not even make up the difference, that God will put his hand on it and God will cause it to to grow. You know, it's interesting. I just thought of this, I didn't put it in my journal today. But but it really is the principle of of like planting seeds. You have to till the ground, you gotta plant the seeds, you gotta water the seeds, but you can't make them grow. You can't make them grow. You work, but God makes it grow. You work, but God blesses it. You work, but God causes in we have to work and trust that God will put his hand on it and God will make it. This is every area of our life. This is our parenting. I'm gonna I'm gonna be diligent to teach and train my kids in the ways of God. I'm gonna parent them. I'm gonna put them in the right environment. I'm gonna do all the things God's asked me to do and yet trust and pray and and believe Jesus. Ultimately, you're the one that has to get a hold of my kids' heart. And you're the one Holy Spirit that has to convict them of the reality of Jesus and cause them to lean into the things of God. I gotta do this at my business. I'm gonna work hard. I'm gonna show up, but ultimately, God, I'm trusting that you're blessing and you're going to, I'm gonna do this in relationships. I'm gonna do my part to reconcile, to encourage, to whatever it may be, and then trust that God, you're gonna show up and you're gonna help this relationship. So in every area, let me encourage you today, however that applies to you, do your part, but then trust that God will put his hand on it. Let's work hard and yet have big, awesome. Incredible surrendered faith, saying, God, ultimately, my trust is in you. It's not one or the other. I'm not gonna put all my confidence in me and no confidence in God, but I'm also not gonna put all my confidence in God and not do my part. No, there is tension. Every house is built by somebody, Hebrew says, but ultimately, God is the builder of all things. I pray that's an encouragement and that's a blessing to you today. Lord Jesus, help us to take this word, apply it to our life. In the name of Jesus, amen. Thank you once again for joining us today on another episode of the Daily Word Podcast. We love you so much, and we'll see you tomorrow on another episode.